Never in my wildest dreams
by spell drift
Summary: By 1843 all seventeen year old Kagome wanted was the love of Inuyasha Macgregor, but the handsome noble never noticed the cook's daughter. However his older brother Sesshoumaru seems to notice her... Full summary inside.
1. Prologue

**Never In my wildest dreams**

**Summary :** Since she was a little girl, Kagome has had one burning desire: to marry Inuyasha Macgregor. But what chance does a gardeners daughter have of capturing the heart of one of England's wealthiest gentlemen? However, the education she receives at the Distinguished Academy of Governess enables Kagome to return to Taisho Hall with a refinement that complements her ravishing beauty-and makes her bold romantic dream more attainable. But alas, temptation gets in the way….

For wherever Kagome turns, it's not Inuyasha she encounters, but his serious, yet undeniably intriguing older brother Sesshoumaru. The elder Macgregor will have no interfere with the younger's impending nuptials, and his meddling infuriates Kagome to no end. Still she cannot disregard the fluttering of her heart whenever Sesshoumaru deigns to smile at her. And the passion she senses smoldering beneath his formidable control is tempting her in a manner a lady must never allow…

**Prologue**

Kaede, Lady Worth, admired a man who thought honestly and spoke without artifice, but Sesshoumaru Kamatari Marubeni Macgregor the Second gave new meaning to the term _tactless._

"Mrs. Higurashi", he said, "it has come to my attention that your daughter is moping."

Mrs. Higurashi, the head cook at Taisho Hall and dignified Anglian of Forty six years, turned her apron in her work-roughened hands as she watched her employer. Apparently, she was used to such direct speaking, for she neither flinched nor cowered. "Kagome is young, Mr. Macgregor, only seventeen years. Given time and the right man, she'll settle."

Kaede pressed her fan to her lips to conceal her amusement. The sun shone into the old walled garden, displaying young Macgregor's lack of expression.

Kaede wasn't so sure. Sometimes when she glanced at Sesshoumaru Kamatari Marubeni Macgregor, she suspected she saw…more.

"Yes." Macgregor was seated on one of the wicker seats he had brought back from the tropics six years ago. "Perhaps."

Of course, Macgregor wasn't handsome like his brother, Inuyasha. He could never have been, for where Inuyasha's blonde, blue-eyed allure oozed from every poor, Sesshoumaru's was Dark, somber and plain. Tall, but all Macgregor's were tall. Big boned and strongly muscled, betraying the common origins of the Macgregor family. So conservative in dress and manner Kaede wished occasionally to shake him until he betrayed some real emotion. But if the birth of his younger and fatally captivating sibling had disturbed Sesshoumaru, that time had been long ago. Now the guarded golden eyes assessed events and weighed characters without revealing anything, and to Kaede such caution seemed out place in a twenty-six-year-old man- unless he concealed depth within his soul.

But if depths were there, he hid them well, for she had no idea what treasures they hid.

He gestured to Kaede, her arm draped across the back of the love seat in a graceful curve for her age. "This is Lady Worth, the proprietress of the well-respected Distinguished Academy of Governesses in London and a dear friend of my mother's. She is visiting with her husband, and has observed your daughter. Lady Worth has expressed an interest in having Kagome return with her to the Distinguished Academy of Governesses in London and there be trained as an instructor."

Kaede smiled at Mrs. Higurashi. She didn't seem affected as most people did, at the application of her charm, but watched her steadily, weighing her with her gaze. The Head cook at Taisho Hall was an important personage, after all. She had to be a woman of good sense.

"With all due respect, my lady- why Kagome?" she asked.

"Kagome would be an admirable governess. Children follow her, and she is endlessly patient, She's well spoken and well educated, thanks to the Macgregor family, I believe-"

Higurashi nodded. "Grateful, I am."

"She seems responsible, but aimless, with no goal in sight." That was a lie. Kagome had a goal, and that goal was the love of Inuyasha Macgregor. She followed Inuyasha about, speaking to him when she had the chance, spying on him from ill-conceived hideouts.

Indeed-Kaede's glance flicked to the wall behind Macgregor-young Kagome seemed to have a penchant for spying.

Inuyasha never noticed Kagome was alive. Oh, he knew her name, but not that she'd grown from a knobby girl into a handsome young woman. Kaede planned to remove Kagome before Inuyasha did notice and thoughtlessly take what was offered.

Opening her fan, Kaede moved it slowly before her face. The branches on the willow that grew beside the wall were swaying, yet no breeze ruffled any of the other trees. Pitching her voice a little louder than her normal, husky tone, she said, "Kagome speaks French well I believe."

Higurashi almost smiled. "Her father was French."

"Our Gardener," Macgregor supplied. "A master of growing beautiful things and a way with making the ordinary seem extravagant. Even after 7 years we still miss him."

Higurashi's dignity grew to combat the dangerous weakness the mention of her husband invoked. "Aye, sir."

With a tact Kaede haven't given him credit for, Macgregor turned his head to inspect the hedge of roses nearby, giving Higurashi a chance to regain her composure. The bushes were in full bloom, a mighty explosion of pink and scent, which Kaede had appreciated but which, she knew, Macgregor had scarcely noticed. "First class work" he complimented, towards the roses.

"Thank you, sir. The rose is called Félicité Parmentier, and she's a magnificent bloomer."

Macgregor and Higurashi stared at the blossoms until Kaede rescued them. "At any rate, Higurashi, a woman with Kagome's gifts will make an admirable addition to the Distinguished Academy of Governesses."

"She's a scatter-brain," her mother said flatly.

The willow rustled violently.

Eyes narrowed, Macgregor glanced behind him. Rising, he strolled around to lean against a low-hanging branch.

"Most girls are at seventeen." Kaede watched him while she missed that Kagome would, with a little coaching, add luster to the reputation of the Distinguished Academy of Governesses. Most of the _Ton _were waiting for Kaede to fail so they might chuckle at her folly for buying such a business. Indeed, Kaede's own dear, pompous husband had been less than understanding about her desire to fill her days with something more than gossip and needlework. Her eyes narrowed as she considered the strong language Lord Worth had used to describe her purchase.

She would prove all of them wrong, most especially her dear husband, and young Kagome would help her do so. "When I am done with Kagome," Kaede said, "she will be polished, independent, and a force to be reckoned with."

Higurashi looked to Macgregor.

Macgregor gave her a small nod, reassuring the anxious mother.

Higurashi sighed heavily and displayed the wisdom that allowed her to take charge of dozens of undercooks and all the foods and confections with such success. "Very well. I'll miss her sore, but if she stays, she's going to get in trouble. So, my lady, take her."

The willow swayed.

With his eyebrows lowered in a fierce and violent fury, Macgregor shook the tree.

The girl, Kagome tumbled downward in a silent confusion of faded skirts and lop-sided ebony braids.

Macgregor caught at her, breaking her fall, but she landed hard on the flowerbed, mashing columbine and yellow alyssum. Her petticoats flew up to reveal black woolen stockings tied with a string around the knee. She gasped painfully as her breath left her.

Macgregor looked thunderstruck. "Kagome!"

So he hadn't known who was up there, Kaede realized, only that someone was spying on them, and he had reacted violently. Fascinating.

Higurashi didn't appear surprised to see her daughter. She only shook her head mournfully. "Scatter-brain."

As soon as she caught her breath, Kagome looked up at Macgregor and with all the passion of her youthful fury, she said, "I won't go. I won't be polished, and independent, and a force to be reckoned with. _You can't make me."_

**Author Tidbits:**

**Hey all! This is a new fic I'm doing, thought it be a new change from all the other kinds of fanfiction. The story is a Historical Romance I've been meaning to write down and get it up and running, and now I have my chance! The story takes place in the late 1800's and is going to turn out to be multiple chapters. This is going to be a Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed my prologue. Give me some feedback so I can put up chapter one!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Never in my wildest dreams**

**Chapter 1- Taisho Hall Four years later**

"Sesshoumaru, you must tell me- who is that beautiful lady I met at the train station?"

Lifting his attention from the row of figures, Sesshoumaru Macgregor stared at Inuyasha. His younger brother stood framed in the doorway of the study, his clothing exquisitely cut, his blond hair styled perfectly, his tanned cheeks flushed with becoming color.

Macgregor had hoped to finish writing instructions on the accounting to his secretary before putting in his first appearance at the reception, but as he studied his over-excited, excessively handsome younger brother, he realized that would not be possible. He recognized trouble when he saw it, and in his family, trouble almost always came in the shape of Inuyasha Macgregor. "A beautiful lady?" Macgregor blotted his pen. "Your fiancée, I would hope."

"No, no. _Not _Kikyo." Inuyasha waved off his intended with a sweep of his elegant hand. " Most certainly not Kikyo. "

The sound of violins, cellos, and French horns drifted in from the terrace and the drawing rooms along with the babble of guests, arrived just this afternoon for five days of festivities celebrating Inuyasha's betrothal to Lady Kikyo Killington. Therefore, Macgregor realized, their own voices could be heard-not that such a paltry consideration would occur to Inuyasha. "Shut the door," Macgregor instructed, and waited until Inuyasha had complied. "Kikyo is quite a handsome girl."

"She's handsome enough." Inuyasha glanced at the cut-glass decanter of brandy on the sideboard. "But _this _was a woman, and what a woman! She-"

Determined to halt this liaison before it started, Macgregor interrupted. "Starting an affair at your betrothal celebration is in extreme poor taste."

"An affair?" Inuyasha's long, elegant face grew longer. "I couldn't start an affair with that girl! She's dewy with innocence."

If Inuyasha didn't want to start an affair, what did he want?_Marriage? _To a girl whose name was unknown to him?

Oh, yes. Such romantic flight of fancy was bound to appeal to Inuyasha. Handsome, frivolous, light-hearted Inuyasha, who wanted nothing so much as to remain an available bachelor forever.

Removing his glasses, Macgregor rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Dewy. Hm. Yes. But as I'd to point out, so is Lady Kikyo- and she's your betrothed.

In a daring rush of words, Inuyasha said, "My betrothed , Not my wife."

Damn. Macgregor should have known this whole arrangement had gone too easily. He'd been waiting for the other shoe to fall, and by God, it had- not surprisingly, in the form of a women. "You didn't object to the engagement before."

Inuyasha stiffened. He stalked forward. Placing his hands flat on the desk, he leaned toward Macgregor and glared, his silverish-blue eyes narrowed. Only the length and sweep of his lashes detracted the menace he projected. "Object?" I most certainly did object, but you had high-handedly put the announcement in the _times _without consulting me."

"Pah. You could have raved and shouted until I drew my offer on your behalf. You didn't." Macgregor neatly corked his ink, placed his pen in his desk drawer and started to slide it closed. Something caught his eye, and he opened it again. A pen was missing. Two pens. " Have the children been playing in here again?"

"I don't know, and don't try and change the subject!" Inuyasha rapped his knuckles on the desk.

The governess couldn't get here too soon, Macgregor reflected. The girls were running wild… or rather, Kaguya was running wild and half the time dragging Rin with her. The loss of his pens was the least of the problem.

Inuyasha said, "I didn't object because you never gave me a chance."

"And because Lady Kikyo _is_ a very handsome female, and an heiress, and the daughter of the Marquess of Langhail. And because you know its time for you to settle down." Reflecting bitterly on the fate of his pens, Macgregor shut the drawer. "An aging roué is an ugly thing."

"I'm only twenty-five."

"I married at twenty-one." Macgregor waved his paper briefly to dry it, and then placed it in the wooden box on top of his desk. Locking the box, he dropped the key into his pocket.

Inuyasha observed his every movement. "Father married at forty."

"He had to make his fortune first so he could afford to buy an aristocratic bride."

"Mother would tack your ears to a slateboard if she heard you talking about her like that."

"Probably." Macgregor pushed back his chair. The plain brown leather furniture slid on a think oriental rug of rich azure and peach on a background of winter white. The striped drapes, accented with gold, echoed the azure and peach, as did the oriental vases and the flowers they held. Each artifact, each knickknack, each ornament was placed with taste and gave the chamber a sense of tranquility, which belied the chaos of Macgregor's business life.

For the refined touches he could thank his mother. Lady Midoriko Belingal Lillington had been but Twenty years old and daughter of one of the oldest earldoms when she was forced by her family's impoverished circumstances to wed. Yet she had been a dutiful wife to Inutaisho Macgregor. Because of Lady Midoriko and her family's prestige, the Macgregor's were able to circulate among the _ton _more easily.

"Lady Kikyo will add as much luster to the Macgregor name as mother did when she married father."

Turning, Inuyasha leaned against the massive desk, crossed his arms, and gave his impression of an ill-used man brooding. "It doesn't hurt that your handsome enough to turn any girls head, either, but I don't throw your prettiness in your face."

Discarding the brooding like a wet cloak, Inuyasha turned. "Which brings us back to my mysterious lady."

"I'm glad you're not attracted to her for shallow reasons."

Macgregor should have known it was too much to expect that Inuyasha would play his part in this betrothal without balking. Inuyasha was good at racing, whoring, drinking, but he'd been thrown from his horse too many times lately, been caught in the wrong bed to often and been unpleasantly, staggeringly drunk one to many times. It was time to get the lad married and settled down before he broke his neck- or someone shot him.

Macgregor straightened his cravat. "Tell me about this mystery woman."

Eagerly, Inuyasha recited her virtues. "Her hair ebony with midnight streaks running through it, her teeth are white and even, like a string of the most precious pearls. She's petite and curvy, like a marble Venus." With his hands, he indicted the shapeliness of the young women in question. "Her skin is like-"

"Alabaster?"

"Yes" Inuyasha smiled, his own alabaster teeth flashing.

"Of course." Macgregor rolled down his sleeves and re-pinned his cuffs. "I suppose her nipples are like two perfect rosebuds."

Inuyasha's brow puckered. He seldom comprehended Macgregor's gibes.

One didn't tease the golden boy.

"I don't know about her nipples."

With heartfelt sincerity, Macgregor said, "Thank God for that, at least."

"Yet." Inuyasha's white teeth gleamed in a smile.

Perhaps Inuyasha did comprehend more than Macgregor gave him credit for. But Inuyasha didn't comprehend how important this betrothal to Kikyo and her Indian Plantations were to the family interests- and more than family interests- or he wouldn't be babbling about some unfamiliar female guest with good teeth and rosebud nipples.

"uh-oh." Inuyasha headed for the sideboard and poured himself a grand amount of brandy. "I recognize that expression. It's the I'm-the-Macgregor-and-I-have-to-manage-everything expression."

"Strange. I was thinking how fortunate that you're seeking handsome young ladies for me."

Arrested in the act if taking a drink, Inuyasha said, "Don't be ridiculous. This one's mine-although it wouldn't hurt you to remarry, you know. Since Kagura's death, there hasn't been a woman worthy of you, and you might not be so bloody grim if you stuck your finger in the jampot occasionally."

Macgregor had heard it before. "I'll worry about my finger, you worry about yours."

"But you're worrying about mine, too, or you wouldn't have arranged this damned betrothal.' Inuyasha downed the liquor in one motion.

"You draw enough money from the company; you might as well earn your keep somehow."

"Marrying well to do my part for the company?" Inuyasha must have been practicing his sneer in private, for that curly of the lips looked almost sincere. "Now _there's _a role where I can at last surpass my superior older brother." Then before Macgregor could inquire into that nature of that remark, he asked, "So you'll find out her name for me?"

This female obviously had Inuyasha twisted in a knot. "Why don't you just ask her?"

Inuyasha turned the glass in his fingers. "She won't tell me."

Macgregor lifted an eyebrow. "She won't tell you?"

"I met her at the train station. I was suppose to pick up Lord and Lady Featherington-"

"What time was it?"

"Just after four."

"They came in on the two o'clock."

"That explains why they weren't there." Inuyasha dismissed his godparents with a shrug. "They'll forgive me."

Macgregor agreed. They would. Everyone forgave Inuyasha everything.

"She was just standing there, beautiful, well formed-"

"Alabaster teeth."

"I couldn't see them at first. She got off the train and looked around, lost and lone-"

"Touching."

"But as soon as I asked her if I could assist her, she flashed the most beautiful smile in the world and said, 'greetings Inuyasha!'"

Macgregor experienced the stirrings of real unease. "She knew you."

She certainly did. She knows you, too. She asked about you- I told her you were as dull as ever."

"Thank you."

"She laughed and said 'of course.'"

"And thanks to her." Always good to know one's repute. Always a relief to know the truth had not yet made its way across two continents to England.

"She asked about mother. She asked about Tehuti, and wanted to know what kind of colts he sired. She asked about Guntilla, and she dabbed sparkling tears from the corners of her eyes when I told her the old dog had died." Inuyasha sighed deeply, his broad soldiers lifting and falling. "Her handkerchief was trimmed in lace and smelled of the most exquisite perfume." Inuyasha, the connoisseur of all things female, squinted and said, "Citrus, cinnamon and, I think ylang-ylang."

"Only_you_ would know that." Macgregor shrugged into his conservatively tailored black coat. "So if she knows you, why don't you know her?"

Inuyasha poured the snifter full again. "I swear I don't remember that exquisite creature."

Inuyasha remembered every handsome female he'd ever met. "How unlike you."

"Exactly." Inuyasha sipped this brandy with a little more care. "And how could I forget her? She adores me."

"Find me a female who doesn't." Macgregor said dryly.

"When I mentioned my betrothal, her big hazel eyes filled with sparkling tears again."

Whoever the woman was, she was obviously playing Inuyasha as he were a fine instrument. "So you comforted her?"

Inuyasha put a hand to his chest. "Just a quick kiss on the cheek to bring that smile shinning through."

"Anonymous alabaster teeth."

"I depend on your good memory to serve us."

Macgregor wanted to gnash his own straight white teeth. "Then she's here."

"I brought her at once." Placing the half-full glass on the silver tray, Inuyasha came to Macgregor and tweaked his collar. "You ought to go up to your valet and allow him to tidy you."

Inuyasha was right, but- "No one will be looking at me anyway." Macgregor said. "_You're _the bridegroom."

"Don't remind me." Inuyasha shuddered and glanced back at the brandy.

Macgregor had no wish to remind Inuyasha of his dissatisfaction with the Killington match again. No, now was the time for tact and swift planning-tact being one property he labored to attain, and swift planning the attribute at which he excelled. That was how he had arrived at his present position as the head of the Macgregor Empire… and his current status within the English government. He would somehow head off disaster.

In a tone that heralded a significant announcement, Inuyasha asked, "Sesshoumaru, you wouldn't want me to be unhappy, would you?"

"I labor for your happiness." Macgregor said.

But Inuyasha knew nothing of what Macgregor did for his family, and Macgregor wouldn't tell him. Better his brother to think him a dull blade. Macgregor shuddered. For if Inuyasha, with this discerning honesty and his inability to dissemble, ever got wind of Macgregor's true aim, he would demand his chance to help- and disaster would surely follow.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked. You're looking rather peaked.

"I was just wondering what you did with your mysterious beauty when you got her here?"

"Lost her! I dropped her at the door, drove my new matched grays to show to Lord Featherington-you know how he is about horses!- and I didn't dare trust them to a ham-handed new groom. When I got back she had disappeared."

"Bad luck." From start to finish, abominably bad luck.

"None of the servants knew who I was talking about, although they were all atwitter about a great many things."

Inuyasha ignored that bit of wisdom. "Who could she have been?"

"Perhaps she wasn't a lady."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, brother, you have a history of confusing actresses and members of the demimonde for ladies, and I end up paying them off to free you from their clutches."

Offended, Inuyasha snapped back, "She was dress in the latest French fashions, she spoke with the finest of accents, and most important, she knew Taisho Hall. She knew us. She knew you. She knew _me."_

"Yes, so you told me. But she was alone. Young ladies of quality do not travel alone."

"Your an old-fashioned fusspot." Inuyasha pronounced.

"I suppose I am." Macgregor had made his point, and he was content to let Inuyasha wrestle with it.

"Obviously she was a guest someone neglected to collect, yet when I asked she laughed with a voice like a bell-"

"Church or clock?"

"What?" Inuyasha's brow knitted, then cleared, and he smacked Macgregor hard enough to bruise his arm. "Stop vexing me."

"All right." Macgregor smacked him back hard enough to remind him who was the taller and stronger and had once, in their boyhood, force-fed him most of a bar of greasy gray soap while sitting on his chest. "I will."

Despite their differences, the brothers understood each other in a way no one else could. They grinned at each other, and Macgregor laid his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Come on, little brother. Let's go find your Exquisite creature."

**Authors dribbles- **

**Hey peeps! I got chapter one up! And I think it turned out good. It shows the relationship between the brothers and how they interact with each other. Unlike the original Inuyasha story concept, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru mostly get along, but you could see how Inuyasha Birth affected Sesshoumaru as it did in the original story, as you read along you'll find out exactly how Inuyasha came to be in the Macgregor family and why he's such an important key in the story. **

**I hope you enjoyed it, and hope you'll read and review for me so I can get your feedback. Chapter 2 is coming right u p after this one! So look for it!**

**Spelldrift**


	3. Chapter 2

**Never in my wildest dreams**

**Chapter 2- Meeting her, Again**

Macgregor watched Inuyasha crane his head, looking through and over the top of the swirling crowd, trying to find his beauteous maiden.

The music wafted in from the terrace one harmonious waves, the rising sounds of conversation drifting with it. The deep rumbling of men's voices, made jovial with conviviality, provided balance for the feminine cries of delight which punctuated the air as ladies' found their acquaintances and renewed friendships.

Taisho Hall was made for parties. The ground floor consisted of studies and music rooms, ballrooms and the lush glassed in conservatory. Thirty-three bedrooms and twenty lavatories lined the corridors upstairs. The large attics sheltered visiting servants, and the bottom floor housed a win cellar and the largest kitchen in Sanfeld. All this, in a limestone shell attractively built by two hundred years of wealthy owners, and set in a jewel of a park tended by the best-paid, most important landscaper north of London.

Once Macgregor got the matter of the exquisite creature out of the way, he looked forward to the evening. Nothing matched the pleasures of making new contacts for whom he might someday do a favor or wrangle a business deal. English society was changing; no one knew it better than he, and no one used those changes as successfully. He asked, "Where is this ravishing lady?"

"I don't know." Inuyasha craned his neck. "I don't think she's arrived yet."

"Or she's outside on the terrace."

A man's authoritative voice announced, "There they are!"

Heads turned at the exclamation.

"Our host, and the lucky man who won our sweet Kikyo's heart." Lord Langhail made his way through the crowd.

The crowd who moved hastily out of his way.

A thin, esthetic man, Lord Langhail looked like a starving Cambridge professor and suffered the well-deserved reputation of a rabid wolf. Regardless of his aristocratic heritage, he had pursued business relationships and made fortune in the name of power-power he wielded ruthlessly. Only his wife and daughter did he soften, and when Kikyo had expressed a wish to have Inuyasha for her bridegroom, Lord Langhail had come to Macgregor and struck a deal.

A deal, Macgregor knew, which Inuyasha had better fulfill, or all the Macgregor's would be playing cricket in hell. Stepping smoothly in front of his distracted brother, Macgregor said, "Lord Langhail, we were just drinking a brotherly toast to your daughter's health and happiness."

"Capital, Capital!" Lord Langhail rubbed his gloved hands together in simulated glee, but his gaze darted between the brothers. "Looking forward to your wedding night, Young Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha chuckled uneasily. "Lady kikyo's father would be the last man I would admit that to, my lord."

"Quite right." Lord Langhail grinned to display his gleaming, twisted teeth set beneath a dark, shaggy mustache. "Good sense, Young Inuyasha. Glad to see you've got some." Turning toward Macgregor, he gestured through the windows to the terrace where the servants could be seen lightening the torches. "Nice atmosphere. Informal."

Sensing criticism, Macgregor assured him, "There will be balls. The betrothal will be the most celebrated of the year." As would be the wedding, even if he had to deliver the groom tied into a parcel.

"There you are, Inuyasha, you naughty boy. I have been looking everywhere for you!"

At the sound of a sweet, feminine voice, Macgregor whirled in alarm, and then slumped with relief when he saw the large, Effusive and elderly Lady Featherington bearing down on them. This woman most definitely wasn't the exquisite creature of the train station.

"Macgregor, Lord Langhail." Lady Featherington nodded at them, the large pale-blue feather waving in her headdress. "Inuyasha, where were you today? We waited at that wretched train station for over an hour." She extended her hand to her godson.

With every appearance of normalcy, Inuyasha bent over her fingers and smiled roguishly. "I got the time wrong, ma'am. Will you forgive me?"

Lady Featherington had once been a beauty, standing as tall as most men and looking them right in the eyes. Now age had stooped her shoulders, rheumatism slowed her progress and a steadily increasing girth her corset strings. But she spoke with a directness that made her a cherished friend. Lady Featherington was the original dear little old lady.

"Today is the happiest day of my life. I had quite despaired of ever seeing you betrothed, Young Inuyasha." She rapped him on the arm with her fan and turned to Lord Langhail. "A wild youth, my lord. Our Inuyasha was a wild youth, but always so handsome and kind, always dropping by for a visit when we least expected him-"

"_When he could charm a loan out of them." _Macgregor thought.

"-And always willing to take Lord Featherington to the races and talk horse until I thought I would faint from boredom."

"Nonsense, ma'am, you talk horseflesh with the best of them." Inuyasha placed her hand on his arm.

Lady Featherington wagged her finger at him. Don't tell my secrets, young man. Ladies aren't supposed to care about bloodlines and racing."

Inuyasha smiled into her face. "In the run-of-the-mill ladies, it is most unattractive when they show such interest. Only ladies as lovely as you can get away with such impropriety."

Lady Featherington actually blushed, her withered cheeks coloring, "Come away with me. We will find Lord Featherington and you shall give him the details of the matched grays you just bought, He is most eager to hear about them. Gentlemen." She dismissed Lord Langhail and Macgregor, two of the most powerful men in the country, with a decided nod and hobbled away on Inuyasha's arm.

Macgregor recognized Inuyasha's relief at escaping the clutches of his future father-in-law, and he hoped Inuyasha would stay with his godparents long enough to allow Macgregor to escape, too. For if Inuyasha found his exquisite creature without Macgregor at his side, there was no telling what folly Inuyasha might commit.

With a twist of the lips, Lord Langhail started after Inuyasha and Lady Featherington. "What a handsome piece he is. Able to charm old ladies and young alike. Not worth a damn, of course Kikyo-"He collected himself as he remembered to whom he spoke. "Well, they'll make pretty babies, at any rate."

Macgregor wasn't about to address Lord Langhail's opinion. "I shall follow and see if I can pry Inuyasha away from his godparents and other well wishers. You see if you can retrieve Kikyo from her mother and the ladies who wish to exclaim over her ring. We'll meet in the middle and match them together." He started off and pretended not to hear Lord Langhail's call of "Where?"

Inuyasha stood conversing with his godparents, but he paid them only cursory attention. He craned his neck, tried to see around the celebratory throng in the largest drawing room, yet Lady Featherington spoke with such animation, Inuyasha couldn't slip away. And Inuyasha was many things, but curt to his godparents he would never be. He had a good heart, Macgregor knew; if only he had a good head to go with it.

Inuyasha's distraction gave Macgregor opportunity. He slipped through the crowd, greeting his guests, examining ever face while looking for the glorious, ebony-haired damsel Inuyasha had so aptly described.

The house party appeared to be proceeding smoothly…but where was the lady Inuyasha had described? _Who _was the lady Inuyasha had described? Macgregor half-hoped he would disappear into the ether never to return. But that wouldn't do, either. Inuyasha would search for her until he found her, No, better that she appear and Macgregor would neutralize her. With a hefty cash payment, most likely, to make her leave, and a hair-curling threat to make her stay away.

Finally, as he stepped onto the terrace, he saw her… it had to be she.

She stood at the top of the stairs that led down to the garden, her back to him, looking about as if searching for someone. Searching for Inuyasha.

Inuyasha hadn't lied about the girls fashion sense. A plain, full bell skirt of rich velvet of the same intent azure as the blue in Macgregor's rug swirled around her feet and rose to embrace a tiny waist. She clutched handfuls on either side, holding the hem slightly aloft, as if prepared to flee at any moment. The off shoulder gown framed a narrow, elegant, exceptionally erect back and made her long, slender neck appear even longer and more slender. Tiny puff sleeves left her arms bare to the top of her long gloves, and a shawl of black Chantilly lace hung artfully draped across one shoulder. The girl sported a head of ebony-black hair, dressed in braids at the back.

From here, she looked like Cinderella, poised at the top of the stairs and waiting for her prince to recognize and claim her.

But Macgregor couldn't allow such romantic nonsense to lay waste to his carefully designed plans. He moved purposely toward Miss Exquisite Creature, wanting to know her name, planning to eject her if she was, as he suspected, uninvited and undesirable.

With every intention of frightening her, he stood directly behind her and said, "I don't believe we've met, Miss…?"

In a swish of velvet, she swung around.

He started. "Kagome!" And all became clear.

The skinny, sad-faced girl who had left Taisho Hall four years ago had returned in triumph. _She _was Inuyasha's exquisite creature._She _could not be sent away. _She _was the governess Macgregor himself had hired.

"Mr. Macgregor!" Her generous mouth curved into a smile that told him everything. That she knew that the Cook's daughter shouldn't be present at a celebration for the _ton_. That she knew she had the grace, manners and charm to pull off such an appearance. That she waited to see how he would react. "How good to see you again."

And he didn't know how to react. This turn of events staggered him, left him unsure- He was never unsure. "Kagome…I didn't realize you would arrive so soon."

"I was packed and preparing to leave Paris anyway. _Monsieur_Ambassador was transferred to a post in the East Indies. _Madame_Ambassador begged me to go with her, and the dear children, but I could not. I wanted to come back. I missed Sanfeld."

"And your mother?" A less-than-subtle reminder of her background.

Her smile broadened. "Definitely my mother and all the servants who helped raise me after my Father died." She gestured about her, calling his attention to the usually unnoticed staff of Taisho Hall. "Especially Muso, who always welcomed me in the Garden no matter how busy he was."

So Kagome acknowledged her background, but claimed the right to move between classes. Beautiful, intelligent, charming…dangerous. This woman was dangerous.

Stepping back, he viewed her again. The plain braided hairstyle revealed, without embellishment, the angular bones of her face. He wouldn't proclaim her exquisite, as Inuyasha did, but he would call her unique. Her chin was broad, her lips full, and her forehead clear. Her brows gave wing over her eyes that were clear, changeable hazel, amused with him and in control of the circumstances.

Then her gaze moved beyond him, and all control vanished. She became eager, animated, and almost coltish in her excitement.

He turned to see Inuyasha looking tense.

"There you are!" Inuyasha extended his hand. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

With that generous smile that lit her face, she took his hand. "I've been waiting."

"_For too long." _Macgregor filled in. She wore an expression of unrequited love- long suppressed. And triumph-she had gotten Inuyasha's attention at last.

What a tangle, and it was up to Macgregor to unsnarl it.

**Authors dribbles-**

**Hey peeps! I am doing well on updating as of late for this story, seeing as I have the whole thanksgiving weekend to work on it. I hope you are enjoying reading it as much as I enjoy writing it; I like how well it is turning out with the characters coming into play gradually then rushing it.**

**I've noticed a few things here and there that I've been told don't make sense to much of you, but I wanted to characters (mainly Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru) to be different in the sense of looks and attitudes and places in society.**

**Many of you I see are not too happy with the changes, but what I want to accomplish is something different than the works out there on FF, which comes to the point why many of you are uncomfortable with it.**

**Here's some things I want to point out that might clear some things up.**

**Yes- Inuyasha is blonde with silver-blue eyes. I made him this way for a reason.**

**Yes- Sesshoumaru has darker hair and dark eyes, but this come into play later in the story with the interaction between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. **

**Yes- Sesshoumaru was married, at the age of 21 might I add, but sadly his wife Kagura died, and he is currently single and very professional until Kagome comes into play later in the story.**

**I hope this clears up some things for you guys.**

**Also, What Sabrina? I'm not sure and it be nice if someone filled me in. Much obliged**

**Spell drift **


	4. Chapter 3

**Never in my wildest dreams**

**Chapter 3- Taking charge**

"Didn't I tell you, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha grasped Macgregor's arm. "Isn't she exquisite?"

"Exquisite and more." Macgregor looked down at Inuyasha's fingers. Inuyasha was creasing the ultrafine black cloth of Macgregor's conservatively tailored suit, and Macgregor allowed him the familiarity. After all, Inuyasha was the handsome one, Macgregor was the sensible one, and the constant turmoil around Inuyasha had long ago convinced Macgregor of the luxury of being the sensible one.

Yet he couldn't resist toying with his brother. Inuyasha still didn't recognize his exquisite creature for who and what she was. "Kagome was just telling me that she worked for the ambassador's family in Paris."

"Ah yes. Worked. Paris" Inuyasha's brow knit as he tried to connect "work" with his mysterious lady. "Kagome…"

Macgregor had begun the game, But Kagome joined in. "Imagine that, Inuyasha. Paris for three whole years! The boulevards, the music, the food, the dancing…"

'I can't imagine." Inuyasha stared fixedly at her, closer to placing her but not yet able to imagine who she might be.

"You've been there, haven't you?" she asked him

"Paris? Briefly, on my tour." His thin lips turned down. "A majestic city, if odiferous."

Paris had nothing on Kashmir, not in majesty nor in odor, But Macgregor never discussed his time in India. No one-certainly not Inuyasha- understood the fascination of the mountainous land and its mysterious people, and no one knew about the time he had spend living among the nomads, fighting their fights, trying to make a peace in a land where peace existed only as a long-ago legend.

Onigumo knew, of course, Onigumo had been there at his side the whole time. The bond between them was different from the bond between the brothers. A bond not of blood, but of shared experiences. Yet Onigumo had been restless lately, edgy in a way Macgregor didn't understand. Perhaps his secretary needed a transfer with organization. But not yet. Macgregor needed him too much to transfer him yet.

In a conversational tone much at offs with his dark ruminations, Macgregor said, "I stayed in Paris for a few months on my way back to England. I enjoyed it, but surely nothing couldn't compare to living there."

Kagome's smile again blossomed, taking her from handsome to magnificent. "I loved it."

"You already knew the language."

"My father taught me." She concurred.

Bewildered, Inuyasha asked, "Your father was French?"

"A charming man," Macgregor said. "I'm surprised you don't remember, Inuyasha."

Kagome allowed her eyes to twinkle at Macgregor.

The daughter had all the charisma of the Father. Mr. Higurashi had a bevy of admirers among the servants, and occasionally from the Gentlewoman visitors. Although he had been steadfast in his devotion to Mrs. Higurashi, incidents had occurred…

Was Kagome like her Father, unwavering in his fidelity? Like her Mother, Dedicated to her work? Or was she nothing but a giddy girl, seeking only fun and a life of leisure? Testing her, he said, "The Paris art galleries are magnificent, truly the equal of any city in Europe."

Leaning toward him, she exclaimed, "Did you to the Louvre? Most people love the _Mona Lisa_, but I adored the Egyptian antiques. And the Greek marbles! Did you see the statues?"

So she _had _a thought in her head. He didn't know whether to be relieved she would be capable to teach the children, or disappointed that she would be all the more fascinating to Inuyasha. "I did enjoy the statues. I suppose you escorted your charged to the museums."

"Oh yes. And sometimes went alone."

"What charges are those?" Inuyasha asked.

Macgregor ignored him. "For the most part, the work must have chained you to the schoolroom."

She turned to face him fully, but she retained Inuyasha's fingers in her own. "Not at all. The society there is much freer; less structured--a result of revolution, no doubt. _Monsieur et Madame _Ambassador encouraged me to join their parties, and I met so many people- Eugene Delacroix, the painter, Monsieur Rendor, the Hungarian revolutionary. Monsieur Charcot, who hypnotizes people and makes them act in amazing fashions." She smiled fondly, enigmatically. "And dear, dear Count de Rosselin."

Like a dog snapping a dangled bone, Inuyasha asked, "Who's Count de Rosebud?"

"Rosselin," She corrected placidly, "He is a gentlemen of the old school, kind, generous, knowledgeable. He taught me so much-to enjoy life, to dress well, to cook, to laugh at myself."

"I hate him," Inuyasha said.

"He is eighty-six years old," She finished.

Inuyasha stared at her, then threw back his head and laughed aloud, a burst of enthusiasm merriment that drew all eyes. "You're a minx."

Time to dash some cold water on Inuyasha's ebullience before they attracted too much attention. In as dry a tone as he could manage, Macgregor said, "Well put, Inuyasha. I was thinking the same thing, our little miss Higurashi had grown up to be a minx."

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed in concentration. "Miss…Higurashi."

Kagome waited placidly for Inuyasha to make the connection. When he did not, she stopped the elderly footman to take a glass of champagne and a single ripe strawberry from the bowl on his tray. "Herne, so good to see you."

The footman reddened and shot a nervous glance at the brothers. "Good t' see ye, Miss Kagome, lookin' so well." Giving way to joy, he grinned. "Lookin' pleasin'!"

"I had a good visit with my mother this afternoon." She looked sideways at Inuyasha, then back at Herne. "I'll be down in the kitchen first thing in the morning to see the rest of you- Muso, and Arwydd, and Brunella… is Frau Wieland still the pastry chef?"

"Indeed she is" Herne grimaced. 'Bossy as ever."

"England and Paris were wonderful, but I've missed you all so much."

At last, light dawned over Inuyasha's perfect features.

"The cook's daughter," Inuyasha exclaimed. "My God, You're Kagome Higurashi!"

Macgregor had to admit Kagome handled Inuyasha's dismay well, sipping her champagne while waiting to hear her fate. Would she be accepted, or would she be hustled away to hide in the servants quarters?

Surely even infatuated Inuyasha had t o see she must go. Paris society be damned; in English _ton_ one's only association with the Cook's daughter was to instruct her to bring in the tea.

With the intention of adding to Inuyasha's dismay, Macgregor drawled, "Very good, Inuyasha. Very democratic of you to invite the cook's daughter to your betrothal party. If one didn't know better, one might mistake you for an American.

A tactical error, Macgregor saw at once. Inuyasha must be truly infatuated- or truly rebellious, for he said, "A woman as beautiful as Kagome doesn't need the deceitful approval of the _ton._"

Herne stoof rooted in place, tray extended.

"Champagne?" Macgregor queried his brother. "Strawberry?"

Inuyasha glared. "I hate champagne and strawberries give me the mange."

"Do you still break out in those disgusting scaly patches?" Macgregor asked. "The ones that make you itch?"

"I hardly think this is the occasion to talk about it," Inuyasha snapped. "Now, where's the brandy? Where's the cheese? Why are we serving _this?"_

"Champagne and strawberries are Lady Kikyo's favorite's." As he spoke to Inuyasha, Macgregor fixed Kagome with a meaningful gaze. "You remember Lady Kikyo. She's your betrothed."

"She should have remembered that Inuyasha is allergic to them. _I _did." Kagome nibbled on the ripe red fruit. "The strawberries are wonderful, Mr. Macgregor. Did they come from my father's greenhouse?"

For all the notice Inuyasha took, Macgregor might not even have mentioned Kikyo. No, all Inuyasha's attention was fixed on the vision of Kagome with her rosy lips around the strawberry.

With winsome coquettishness, she finished the fruit, placed the stem on Herne's tray, and laid her hand on Inuyasha's arm. "Your very kind, Inuyasha, I've always worshipped you from afar, did you know that?"

_Know that? H e didn't even know you were alive._ But Macgregor had learned his lesson, and he clamped his mouth shut.

Inuyasha lost all the starch in his spine as he gazed at the slip of a girl beside him. "Worshipped me? That's a persuasive claim."

"From afar. I used to watch the parties from over there"- waving her tall champagne glass, she indicated a small marble alcove in the garden- "And you were always so charming, so handsome. I fell in love with you while watching you dance. The only gnat in the soup was- you weren't dancing with me."

"I can make that up to you right now. Miss Higurashi, will you dance with me?" Inuyasha extended his gloved hand.

Eager to assist her, Herne snatched her champagne.

She thanked him with a smile. Putting her hand into Inuyasha's, she let him sweep her into a waltz.

"Champagne, Mr. Macgregor?" Herne asked.

"Hm. Yes, I think that would be a good idea." He accepted the glass, then stopped Herne when he would have hurried off. "Kagome is a lovely woman."

"Yes sir," Herne answered. "So sweet an' kind, willing t' help, an' smart! Schooled by yer own instructor, sir, an' that gentlemen said he'd never seen a child as quick as her, lad or lass. We're proud of her." He bowed. "Will there be anything else sir?"

By that little speech the footman warned him and informed him.

Macgregor took a strawberry and waved Herne away.

Sipping his champagne, Macgregor admired Kagome's dancing, which unfortunately was as light and skilled as any English noblewoman's.

Lady Midoriko's chilly voice spoke form just behind him. "Who is she?"

"Mother." Wrapping his arm around her waist, he brought her to his side. She was a tiny woman, and growing shorter as she left sixty behind. Her shoulders were stopped beneath the weight of her silk gown and wide petticoats, and she carried a cane. She has never been a beauty- beauty might have brought her a rich _and_ titles husband- but she had an aristocrat's arrogance and an Englishwoman's pride. Kissing her powdered cheek, he said loudly, "The party is wonderful, as always.' He lowered his voice. "Smile mother, everyone will take their cue from us."

He felt the stiff indignation grip her before she let it go. Eternally pragmatic, she understood the necessity of behaving as if she enjoyed the sight of Inuyasha dancing with a ravishing girl who was not his fiancée.

"She is Miss Higurashi," Macgregor informed her. In an absolutely agreeable tone, lady Midoriko asked, "The gardener's daughter?"

"Exactly."

It was a measure of his mother's distress when she used his father's favorite curse. "Hell and damnation."

Herne made his stately way toward them, offering champagne and strawberries.

Lady Midoriko accepted the champagne and waved off the strawberries. Like her younger son, she was allergic to them.

She waited until Herne has moved on before she continued. "You've got to get rid of her. Immediately."

"How?"

"Throw her out!"

"She is the daughter of our faithful cook and our deceased Gardener. I have hire her to be the girl's governess." He paused long enough to let her ingest that impalpable truth before adding, "Besides, if I were to toss her out, Inuyasha would follow."

"But if Lord Langhail sees her!"

"It's too late for that." With a tilt of his head, Macgregor indicated the apologetic Lord Langhail standing in the open doorway.

"The gardener's daughter." Lady Midoriko sipped the champagne and watched the dancing with fixed enjoyment. "What can Inuyasha be thinking?"

"The question would be- with what is Inuyasha thinking?" Macgregor murmured.

Lady Midoriko whipped her head around to stare at him. "What?"

"Nothing, mother."

"You pick a poor time to show the first signs of a sense of humor."

"Yes, Mother." He supposed he had best keep his observations to himself. 'It isn't as if I care whether the gardener's daughter comes to the party. I have no aristocratic pretensions. My own antecedents don't bear looking into"—he fixed her with a significant gaze—"on either side."

"Your not going to mention the highwayman again? That was a hundred years ago, and at least _he_ had the advantage of being romantic."

Without drawing breath, she continued, "My ancestors aren't nearly as scandalous as your father's, with his rebellious Scottish baron and Cromwell's commander and those dreadful pirates."

It was an argument she had had often with his father. She had never won and his father was dead, but that didn't stop her from fighting.

"If anything, the family background makes this intrigue with Miss Higurashi all the more undesirable." Lady Midoriko pointed out what Macgregor already knew. "The _ton _could easily be made to remember how precarious the Macgregor toehold into society truly is, especially if, in a disgraceful spectacle, Inuyasha rejects his betrothed-one of our own-right before our eyes."

"I realized that, Mother."

In a quite tone that barely reached his ears, she said, "Sesshoumaru, for the sake of Her Majesty's realm, we need to Langhail's connection."

"The capital won't hurt us, either." If his family had a motto, it might be _Money and Patriotism. _"But we must move carefully. Right now, to Inuyasha, Miss Higurashi embodies that forbidden fruit."

"I do get tired of having you be so eternally right." She muttered.

"In the future, I will try to fail you, Mother." He flashed a smile down at her. "But not this time."

"No. But what will you do?"

His smile faded. "Miss Higurashi's handling of Inuyasha has proved one thing. He_can_ be handled."

All Macgregor had to do was discover the method.

Authors tidbits—Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated, but here's the this chapter for "Never in my wildest Dreams"!!


	5. Chapter 4

**Authors Notes: Hey peoples! Im finally getting to updating this story again and it feels great. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as ive enjoyed writing it. Please review so I can know what you guys think!**

**Hey guys! It has come to my attention that i have made a grave error and i am sorry for this. I am basing this off of Christina Dodd's story, In My Wildest Dreams (Not Sabrina), and i have forgotten time and time again to give her credit. I'm sorry. Please enjoy the rest of the story**

**Never in my wildest dreams**

**Chapter 4**

Kagome had dreamed of this moment every night of her life.

"I have dreamed of this moment," Inuyasha breathed in her ear.

He'd said just the right thing. They were dancing just the right dance. He was holding her in his manly arms…

His breath tickled her neck. "You waltz like a dream."

The music entwined them with magic. The air sparkled like the finest champagne. The stars popped out, one by one, brilliant with light, and each and every torch around the veranda burned brightly just for her. She was waltzing with Inuyasha. Inuyasha, the man she'd loved since the time…

"I loved you since I first saw you," he murmured.

She drew back to look up at him, and she couldn't help it. She laughed in his face. "The first time you saw me, I was probably a sniveling babe. The first time you noticed me, I was eleven years old."

"I meant…"

"You meant you loved me since the first time you saw me today." He looked uncomfortable, and the merriment in her crested. "You don't remember me at eleven do you?" Dear Inuyasha, he had lived a life of excitement, of glamour. Of course he didn't remember. She didn't care. Nothing could ruin this perfect evening.

"You tripped me."

"No!" he protested. "I could not have been so un-chivalrous."

"Indeed you could." She kept her voice low pitched and soft, the way the Count de Rosselin had always instructed. "You were a boy! I was eleven and you were sixteen, and when I fell I tore my best Sunday dress."

She had Inuyasha Macgregor, the most dashing rogue in England, puzzled and intrigued. She wasn't ashamed of her past; she wouldn't let him pretend she was someone she wasn't. He would accept her as the gardener's daughter, or not at all. If she'd learned one thing in Paris, it was that a beautiful young woman who held herself in high esteem could have anything she wanted—and Kagome wanted Inuyasha.

"I cried, and you picked me up and hugged me, and carried me to your father's study."

Their steps slowed as he listened.

"I was frightened to death of old Mr. Macgregor. But you bravely confessed what you'd done and before Sunday next I had a new gown and my first—and only—infatuation."

He liked that; his eyes crinkled and his dimple flashed. "You were infatuated with my father?" he teased.

"All Macgregor men are irresistible," she answered.

"But I am the most irresistible, aren't I?"

She pretended to think.

He leaned closer. "Aren't I?"

He was almost kissing her on the dance floor, and such an action would be ruinous. She knew people were already buzzing, wondering who she was. She wouldn't give them any more ammunition than the truth. So she agreed. "You, Inuyasha, are by far the most irresistible."

Gathering her close once more, he whirled her in a grand circle.

Over her shoulder, she glimpsed the one Macgregor man who was quite resistible—Sesshoumaru Macgregor, who stood watching them, holding a strawberry and talking to Lady Midoriko.

Well, every dream worth having was worth fighting a few dragons for, and Sesshoumaru Macgregor was a very worthy dragon.

_He_ was the one who had arranged this wretched betrothal which had almost overset Kagome's plans. Muso had confessed that Sesshoumaru Macgregor had forced Inuyasha into the arms of little Kikyo, a gir who's only assets were a fortune and a title. A girl Kagome remembered as being awkward and spotted, and as infatuated with Inuyasha as Kagome herself.

Kagome hated her for that.

At first Kagome had thought her dream of marrying Inuyasha had been crushed before it began. Then she remembered the words of the Count de Rosselin. "Kagome, a dream is worth having only if you are willing to fight for it."

So she would fight. She would use every weapon at her disposal. This time the dream would not fade. She wouldn't let it. Because of Paris, and Count de Rosselin, and the past four years of loneliness, growing up, and learning how to be the most fascinating woman on the continent. No gentleman as staid and dull as Sesshoumaru Macgregor would stand in her way.

Dancing on her toes to get closer to Inuyasha's ear, she murmured, "I would relish some champagne. And I would like to drink it in the grand ballroom, while the moonlight glints on the gold leaf and we dance to the distant strains of music."

Inuyasha drew back in amazement. "You little siren! Did you spy on me in there, too?"

For the grand ballroom, darkened on the night of the garden party, had been where Inuyasha took those other girls. There they danced, and afterward he kissed them. Kagome had watched him through the window, wanting to the girl in his arms.

"The ballroom." She slipped out of his arms at the edge of the dance floor and drifted into the house, her feet scarcely touching the ground.

Lords and Ladies moved though all the lighted rooms in the house. In t he drawing rooms, the corridor, the library. Dancing, gossiping, eating and drinking. They smelled of perfume and talc, dressed in taffeta and lace, and laughed and cried and bled just like her. She knew most of them, although they didn't know her. As a child, she had studied them, wanting to be like them so she could be with Inuyasha. Her mother said it was impossible. She said there were the aristocrats, the middle class, and the poor, and never would the lines blur. She said she created misery for herself, and it was true, she had. But in Paris, she had transformed that misery into a possibility and not even Mother's disapproval could change that.

People glanced her way, discussed her behind their fans, tried to place her among their acquaintances. She didn't care. She could bear the gossip with Inuyasha's love to support her.

She could almost hear her practical mothers voice saying, "He doesn't love ye yet."

But she had hardly begun to fight.

As she made her way and turned the corner toward the ballroom, the candelabras became few and far between. By use of illumination, the family deliberately encouraged the guests to stay near the veranda, and the dimly lit corridor wound before her.

It didn't matter. She knew her way around every bit of Sanfeld Hall. During her childhood, she had learned every inch of the eighteenth-century house. It came into the Macgregor family a mere forty years ago, but for her, this had always been home.

Pausing, she looked out a window onto the veranda. Inuyasha stood out there, trapped in an alcove. He couldn't come to meet her, for he was cornered by Lord and Lady Langhail, and by a girl…a rather handsome girl, tall and pretty, if a little awkward.

Kagome leaned her hands against the windowpanes.

Who was she? She had black hair, each strand shinning in the torch light. Her lips were shaped like a bow, waiting to be kissed. Not a spot was to be seen on her fair complexion. And for her eyes… her eyes were brown and wide, and fixed on Inuyasha in slavish adoration.

Kagome snapped to attention.

It was Lady Kikyo. Her rival. That pretty, soft, sweet-looking female was the girl Kagome would relieve of a husband.

Pressing her hand to her chest, Kagome took a breath.

She wished she hadn't seen Kikyo. It would have been better if she hadn't. Then she wouldn't be feeling this flood of…oh…call it what it was. Guilt. She felt guilty at the thought of hurting Kikyo.

She didn't know why she should. The girl had everything. A title, a fortune, and two parents who adored her. She never had to work; she certainly didn't have to stay up late remaking clothing she had accepted from the Ambassadors wife.

But there was something about the expression on her face as s he looked at Inuyasha…as if she really loved him.

Kagome glared through the window. Well, too bad. If someone had to suffer, it might as well be her. Not Kagome. Not now. Not again.

The someone joined the little group, and Kagome glared more fiercely. Sesshoumaru Macgregor. The architect of this whole disaster. He was the only one who deserved to suffer.

Of course, if one were to be fair, one might say Kagome wouldn't be here now except for his offer of a position. But she didn't feel like being fair.

He bowed, he spoke, he observed the little group solemnly. For as long as Kagome could remember, he had been the dark, cool, remote Mr. Macgregor, cast in the shadows by the blazingly bright Inuyasha. He was equitable to a fault; none of the servants would hear a cross word about him, for he pensioned their elderly, cared for their sick, and treated each of them with the respect due another human being.

Indeed, Kagome well knew what she owed Mr. Macgregor. It was Mr. Macgregor who had declared she should go to the Distinguished Academy of Governesses to further her education and learn a trade, and Mr. Macgregor, who had paid for the initial cost. She had paid him back for her earliest earnings; Kagome couldn't bear to think herself any further indebted to the Macgregor family. So when the offer of a job as governess to the Macgregor's daughters had arrived from Sanfeld Hall, She had been able to decide without feeling undue pressure.

Not that there had ever been any doubt. Inuyasha resided at Sanfeld Hall.

The little group outside the window appeared to be suffering an altercation, with Lord Langhail speaking in a heated manner to Inuyasha while Lady Langhail tugged at one arm. Lady Kikyo tugged at the other while casting anxious glances at her betrothed. Inuyasha looked distracted, glancing at the house as if he wished to be elsewhere-and Kagome knew where that elsewhere was. She wanted him to be there almost as much as she wanted him to end his betrothal right now…

And with a bustle of skirts and an entourage of three footmen carrying covered silver trays, Frau Wieland arrived.

Kagome stared. Old Mr. Macgregor had adored pastry and deserts and had begged Frau Wieland; famous for her strudel, to come from Vienna for a good salary and the promise of the best of the servant's quarters. She had lorded it over the other servants ever since, and to a one they hated her. Now she waltzed into the middle of a _ton_party into the center of a lordly fight and demanded attention. And Mr. Sesshoumaru Macgregor apparently thought she should have it. He gestured for quiet and indicated she should speak.

She did, so loudly that by leaning close to the window and by watching her lips, Kagome could catch a word or so.

"Magnificent new concoction… deserves attention… by invitation… Mr. Macgregor said…"

Frustrated, Kagome put her ear right to the glass in time to hear her trumpet, "I present… _la crème moka gateau."_

The footmen whisked the covers away and presented glasses filled with frothy brown, pink and white concoctions.

Mr. Macgregor accepted the first one with an exclamation of pleasure. It appeared he had his father's weakness for desserts.

By their expressions Lady Midoriko, Lord and Lady Langhail, Kikyo and Inuyasha were as befuddled as Kagome, but they all took a spoon, tasted and nodded. Kikyo nodded with a great deal of enthusiasm, Inuyasha with much less.

By his gestures, Macgregor urged him to eat more. Yielding, Inuyasha ate as rapidly as he could. Clapping Macgregor on the shoulder, he tried to edge away.

Macgregor smiled the kind of smile that raised goosebumps on Kagome's arms, and glanced toward the window, his gray eyes wickedly amused.

She jumped back.

She didn't know why. He surely couldn't see her. The lights were bright outside. No candles glimmered in this part of the house. And she had no reason to hide from Mr. Macgregor. None at all. But for some reason she didn't want Mr. Macgregor to think she spied on them.

He smiled toward the window, and then moved Kikyo to stand beside Inuyasha.

Kagome fled toward the ballroom.

A/N- Hey people! I'm going to try to update a chapter every day seeing as that they are usually only 5 pages long and seem to be such a success that it seems reasonable. I hope you people enjoyed this chapter!


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